It is scary, don t be alone in Derry
by Floatingfoxx
Summary: The lone wolf Jessica Lester has lived her whole life in Derry, but it s not until after meeting George Denbrough a rainy October afternoon that she realises how dangerous Derry is- especially if you re alone. Her life is about to take an unexpected turn and new people start to show up in her life.
1. Chapter 1, the Feeling

Jessica Lester´s life changed a rainy day in October. And even though that day was the day that changed her life forever, she can only vaguely remember it.  
To Jessica, this started off just an ordinary autumn day. This was one of those days when it felt like the sky had opened itself and it rained from dusk til´ dawn without even once stopping.  
Jessica, or Jess as she wanted to be called by her friends (or she thought she would if she had any), sat by her window on Jackson Street and looked out on all the young children, playing around in the puddles with their colorful raincoats and galoshes.  
Just across the street from Jess´ house there had once been another house, identical to the one she lived in, but for some reason they tore that house down and replaced it with a playground. Though it wasn't one of those happy playgrounds, where children run around chasing each other and screaming with laughter as the swing lifts you higher and higher.  
No. This was a playground where, if you run around chasing each other, at least one of you have a constant risk of tripping over a nasty root that later magically disappears and one where the swing lifts you higher and higher only with the intention of throwing you off and maybe succeed in breaking your neck or back.

 _"_ _That is an evil playground Jessica,_ evil _"_ her grandmother always said to her. She told Jessica stories about unfortunate children who fell of the seesaw and were now unable to walk and children who fell and broke an arm or two even though the lawn was as flat as she was fat. She also told Jessica about the swings.  
 _"Have I ever told you about those swings Jessica?"_ Her old croaky voice always said and she never gave Jessica enough time to even open her mouth.  
 _"Those swings are cursed. There used to be three but after Joe Fasbetts death they blamed the swing and took it down."_ They blamed a swing for murder; does that mean they didn't think it was an accident?  
 _"And now were left with only two, but hear my words Jessica those are as cursed as the one who gave Fasbetts his last ride. Just look at them, always going back and forth… creaking"_ and she was right. By now Jessica had gotten used to the sound of the swings but if she stopped and actually listened she could always hear the old rusty chains creaking.  
 _"and listen to me when I say that all of this, everything that has happened here, they are not just accidents, I have lived here long enough to know that this whole town is evil. I grew up here, just like you´re doing, and I have experienced some horrible and unbelievable things."_ the grandmother preached in front young Jessica, who after that always sped up as she walked past the playground and never joined any of the other children outside when they were playing.  
And maybe this was contributing to her being alone now at the age of 14, but she´d be lying to herself if she said she didn't feel a bit uneasy every time she was close to that playground. She didn't want to be close to that thing.  
More often than not children would walk out of that playground crying or screaming, and she would always look out the window when she heard that oh so familiar sound of a crying child. Why? Well she didn't know that.  
The children were often all right; just a scrape on the cheek or a bruised knee but something inside spoke to her and told her to look out that widow.  
What if someone actually  
 _(died)  
_ hurt themselves really bad?

Across the street and just a few minutes to the right were Derrys two motels, Koala and Holiday Inn. During the summer tourists would come to Derry and during the winter, families who came to visit a relative, or young adults visiting a close friend from collage or High school. So it wasn't unusual with new faces or strangers, at least not on this street. Jess had always wanted to put up a warning sign on the fence surrounding the playground, to protect the newcomers and their children.

 **WARNING  
Do not enter this playground without parents.  
Parents be aware! This playground  
will try to kill your child.**

Trying to focus on the book she´s holding in her hands a quiet mumble escapes her lips  
"Come on, Jess, they´re all right and you´re all right, what are thinking about?"  
But something didn't feel right; she felt it in her chest, in her stomach, everywhere.  
Stress? Anxiety? No, no, no. This felt  
 _(dangerous)  
_ different.

Unable to concentrate she put the book down and looked at the clock, twenty minutes past three.  
The room was cold, and dark. It had rained for almost a week now, but about two days ago it had started to blow as well. That's when the power went out.

As Jessica walks down the stairs she notices how very quiet it is.  
"Mom? Dad?"  
Silence.  
As she approaches the kitchen she sees the yellow-ish paper that mom always uses to leave notes to her.  
 _"Well I can´t use the expensive paper just to leave you a note now can I?"  
_ A smile starts to form on Jessica's face while she reads the note _._

At Tozier´s, Home late.  
Prepared broccoli-pie, in refrigerator.  
Take some lemon cake to dessert.  
Love, Mom

It wasn't unusual for her parents to visit their friends around the neighborhood, they often did so and they always came home very late.  
When they started to spend the evenings with the neighbors Jess would sometimes come with them.  
Now, only the thought about going with her parents to the Tozier´s make her uncomfortable.  
They weren't mean or anything, in fact that Tozier boy, Richie she remembered, was quite nice. He always tried to make her laugh and he _never_ stopped talking. But it felt good, because even though she didn't have anything to say, someone spoke to her and seemed to enjoy it.  
But just being there with her parents when they´re so different, she couldn't take it.

But at the memory of Richie her smile grows.  
He looks quite innocent with his enormous glasses and unbuttoned shirts, but he has a foul mouth that often leads to him being beaten up after school.  
School. Her smile fades.

Her gaze now leaves the note and wanders around the kitchen; it feels quiet, too quiet. Jessica´s gaze lands on the kitchen clock above the stove.  
Half past three.  
The Feeling comes again, everywhere. It doesn't feel right; something isn't right, but what?

Without thinking about it she starts to put on her raincoat and galoshes.  
And after a moment's hesitation she walks out of the front door.  
Jessica Lester could feel the wind pulling her clothes, pulling all of Jessica away from the door and out. The wind was much stronger than she expected, but it didn't rain as much as before.  
If she wasn't buried so deep in this new strange Feeling, taking over her mind and all of her thoughts she might have asked herself why the front door closed itself with the wind blowing the other direction, or why the wind was so eager to drag her out of her house or maybe why the swings just across the street stood completely still.


	2. Chapter 2, a walk down Jackson Street

Chapter 2:

Jessica finds herself walking down Jackson Street, away from the motels, towards Derry Elementary School.  
The road is dark due to the electric cut and nobody is outside, those children she saw earlier playing in the rain are gone without a trace.  
The big houses on each side of Jackson Street rise up like gigantic walls, trapping her. And everything is so quiet, even the wind has stopped blowing now. She can hear every breath she takes, they become heavier and faster.  
For some reason she feels like someone is watching her, no, she _knows_ that someone is watching her.  
There are no cars outside due to the heavy rain that hit the town about a week ago, almost flooding Derry. She really is all alone out here.  
But, when Jessica thinks about it, she´s always alone.  
Home, school, ballet. Always alone.  
But it´s not a bad thing, Jessica thinks, you have chosen to be by yourself and therefore you are alone. But you are not lonely. Just alone.  
In school Jessica always go by unnoticed but it´s alright because at least she doesn´t get beaten up or hunted by Henry Bowers and his gang or Greta and her girls.  
The people they go after are different, she thinks to herself, not in a bad way but the truth is that they are.  
Richie Tozier, she knows him (or well, if he met her he probably wouldn´t recognize her without her parents she thinks) and she also knows that his mouth bring him trouble, he kinda brings that on himself though…  
And then there is the boy who stutters, William something, or do they call him Will? She doesn't know. Since she wasn't spending much time with anybody in school she often missed out on gossip and rumors, names and faces wasn't her strong side.  
Why the Bower´s gang goes after the stuttering boy must be because he stutters, or maybe he´s like Richie and can´t hold his mouth… though that sounds very unlikely.  
Then there is the Jew, the fat boy and the boy who can´t breathe. She doesn't know anything about them, not their names or their faces, just their so called "problems". She had seen a quite big boy on her way to the library one day though, maybe he was the fat boy… well probably.  
Thinking about this made her forget about the Feeling she felt before and the street doesn't feel quite as dark anymore.

As she walks by the intersection between Jackson Street and Main Street the wind rises and very vaguely and just for a second Jessica hears something.  
Or was it just the wind?  
But it sounded like a… _laugh_  
a laugh from a _child_ , a young one.  
But it could've been the wind, yea, that's right, it was just the wind , nothing else.  
Normally she wouldn't be scared of a child's laugh, she lives next to a playground so she's quite used to it, but this laugh… or the _wind_ , yes the wind, there was something of with it.

Before she can think any further about that the Feeling comes back, and she feels a presence.

And it doesn't feel like someone's watching her, it feels like someone  
 _(or something)_  
is getting closer.  
Her heartbeats echo in her ears, so loud, keeping all other noises out.  
A sudden thrill goes up her spine and her fingertips feel so cold, only now she realizes that she has stopped, frozen, in the middle of the street.  
She´s screaming inside to move, to turn around. But her body is just as frozen as before, and if she´d turn around, what would she see?  
Breath quickening, it feels like hours gone by, but it couldn't have been more than half a minute.

"Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon" she tells herself behind gritted teeth.  
And just as that she turns around.

Empty.

Behind her Jackson Street lies empty and quiet.

 _"_ _ohmygod"_ it doesn't come out as words, more like a very quiet sigh of relief.  
She is so close to the tears, for a moment she thought she would die. Die!?  
"What are you thinking about Jess? Shut up and walk, you´re not in a horror movie, you are in Derry, walking down Jackson Street, in the dark, alone, SHUT UP YOU" and while having that conversation with herself Jessica is completely unaware that just a bit down Jackson Street one of the bushed is giving out a peculiar sound for a bush, it almost sound like a child´s laughter.

When Jessica finally found her lost courage again she keeps walking down Jackson Street, and as she does so the wind rises.  
It started as nothing more than a chill breeze, almost like one of those that you are so thankful to during a hot summers day, but then it gained in strength quickly. Too quickly for a wind she thought as she had to pull her coat closer to herself to not completely freeze to death.  
And now t wasn't blowing anymore, it was pulling her and pushing her forward  
Forward towards something or maybe towards  
 _(it)  
_ someone.

 _The wind has a mind of its own  
_ the thought only passes through her mind for a split second, but it still felt scary. Scary because it felt true.

That's when she feels it, the scent that is so familiar to her; popcorn, cotton candy, peanuts… The familiar scent that enchants children across the world to buy tickets to go and see the elephants, the ballerinas, the lions and the funny looking clowns… the scent of a circus.

The wind stops so abrupt she almost falls over.  
She´s right at the point where Witcham Street crosses Jackson Street.  
She turns around to look at Jackson Street, where she came from and where the wind blew her away from, empty.  
The traffic lights that usually light up the intersection are dark, not even those work after the power cut.

Jessica feels herself losing her courage again and just as she´s about to head back home, to safety even though she will be  
 _(lonely)  
_ alone, she hears something. But this time the sound is not just a passing sound.  
Jessica can really hear it, and it´s not the wind, but she wishes it was.  
The sound is getting closer and she starts to make out the tones, it´s a melody… And she knows the melody; she has heard it before, outside the circus

 _Campton ladies sing dis song, doodah doodah  
_ (the music, it´s getting closer) _  
Campton Racetrack nine miles long, Oh, doodah day!  
_ (and closer)  
 _Gwine to run all night,  
_ (so close) _  
Gwne to run all day.  
_ Until it stops.

That's when she freezes.  
Her breathing is caught in her throat, not a sound escaping her mouth even though she wants to scream from the top of her lungs, her nipples hard against the t-shirts soft fabric and she can no longer feel her fingertips.  
Everything disappears, her body, her mind, nothing matters, she can see nothing but what's in front of her.  
There- in front of her, on the other side of the intersection maybe ten meters in front of her, two yellow, glowing eyes are staring at her.

She stares back at those eyes, that aren't supposed to be there. Unbelievable fear grows inside of her, but she can't remove her eyes from the ones in front of her, and as her hand travels up to her mouth it is shaking, in fact her whole body is shaking.  
 _Those eyes…  
_ She´s paralyzed, stuck, she has lost the power to move her legs, to move anything.  
Inside something tells her that those eyes are coming closer, but her mind is completely empty. Like a cheap in front of a hungry wolf.  
 _How can this be dangerous, I can still feel the smell of the circus, popcorns, cotton candy, pean-_

"Gwine to run all night,"  
cheek drop and her eyes widen even more. The voice did not match the familiar and welcoming smell of the circus. This was a raspy voice, almost childish and squeaky.

"Gwine to run all day"  
this time closer, so much closer. But the eyes were still on the other side of the intersection, and somehow a darkness surrounded the eyes and the rest of the body was yes to be revealed.  
 _Moooooove, come on body move, you will die. This is the evil, this is the evil in Derry!  
_ Jessica only watched as the eyes got closer. Maybe seven meters away, maybe six, she couldn't tell.  
 _This is what grandmother talks about and this is what you are afraid of and you have to move!_

 _"_ _Jessssicaaaaaaaaaa"_ a child, definitely not the squeaky voice from earlier.  
 _"Jessssicaaaaaaaa, I waaant to seeee youuuuu"_ it was like she woke up from a slumber, she could see clearly again, the eyes were not more than five meters away, but they were still only eyes, eyes and darkness surrounding them.

"Ohgodohgodoh- no, what the f-" the fear and panic gives her back her breath, and her mind together with her body.

She starts to move her legs  
 _I am not staying here a second longer, run, please carry me forward legs  
_ and so they do, faster than ever she turns left in the intersection, to Witcham Street, and she runs for her life, not looking back, she does not see what might be hunting her.  
Somewhere behind her Jessica hears a low growling noise, or she thinks that she heard something. But it sounded more like an animal rather than… whatever that thing over there was.

Jessica had now been running for a while and was quite far up on Witcham Street, where the houses were just a little bit bigger than the houses on Jackson Street.  
After running this bit without dying Jessica felt safe enough to slow down just a bit and look over her shoulder, just to make sure that those eyes weren't still staring at her.

And just like that, when the danger was supposed to be over and her breath had finally started to even out, Jessica ran into, what was going to become, her worst nightmare.

 **Thank you guys for reading this chapter, things will start to pick up in the next chapter and I`ll be uploading soon again!  
Thank you again!  
/ Floatingfoxx**


	3. Chapter 3, a small boy

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, this chapter might start up slow, but hopefully it picks up it´s pace...  
And please leave comments like tips and stuff, this is my first ever fanfiction so I migh be doing everything whrong... Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 3:

They had both crashed into each other, but since Jess was a lot bigger than the little boy, he was now on the ground, in a puddle created by the heavy rain.  
"Wow, oh, ehm, I am really sorry" Jessica said offering a hand, the small boy took it. His hand was a lot warmer than hers she noticed, he probably just went outside.  
"Thank you." His voice was a child´s, which was to be expected because he _was_ a child, but there was something so innocent about his voice that made him sound so much younger than he looked like.  
"It was really stupid of me, I wasn't looking where I was going" she apologizes and awkwardly laughs.  
"That's alright, it didn't hurt" he looks up at her for the first time.  
He had an adoring smile, revealing not completely fully grown teeth, big brown eyes surrounded by dark eyelashes, dark blond hair protected from the rain by the yellow raincoats hood.  
 _How old could he be, like… six? No, probably seven…_  
"Well, that's… good" not used to talk to people Jessica didn't really know what to say to this young boy.  
"Yes it really is. Do you want to see my boat?"  
 _this boy has a boat? His own boat?_  
"A boat? Well, yes. I would like that very much" she smiles, but something feels off.  
 _Maybe I´m just a bit uneasy after what happened over there, that wouldn't be strange.  
_ She tries to look over her shoulder discreetly, to the place where the yellow eyes were before, but notices how they boy looks at her with questioning eyes.

The boy sits down on the edge of the pavement and Jessica follows him and sits down next to the yellow raincoat.  
He takes out something from inside of his raincoat, something made of paper.  
 _Of course, a paper boat! You are so stupid Jessica…_

"Here it is!" he holds it out proudly in front of Jessica. It's a beautiful boat, if you can call a paper boat beautiful.  
"Wow! It is very beautiful! Have you made it?"  
"No, my brother did. But he´s home in bed sick now." he pouts a little with his lower lip and looks down.  
"But if he wasn't he would have come with me outside he said!" the boys enthusiasm is something beyond what Jessica has heard before.  
"And he wrote my name on it… _her_ I mean, look!" he points at the boat and he is right;

 **SS Georgie**

"Is your name Georgie?"  
"Yes!" he smiles before continuing.  
"Or my real name is George, but my brother calls me Georgie and I really like it. Georgie Denbrough! That's me"  
 _He is very nice, so polite and friendly and he is just a boy, a young boy. Wow, you are so depressing Jessica! You enjoy speaking to a boy that is so much younger than you, you should have real friends, friends your age!  
_ The now, oh so familiar feeling of uneasiness and tension fills Jessica's body, again… There is something off, and maybe that's not very strange. _Those eyes could easily have moved, they could be behind us and waiting to devour us. Just because they aren't where I saw them last time does not mean they´re gone._ Ignoring the feeling Jessica remembers she never introduced herself.  
"Well my name is Jessica Lester." I look down at him; he must be four or five years younger than me.  
"So what are you doing out here?" little Georgie Denbrough asks.  
 _What am I supposed to answer? 'I was out looking for something dangerous and I found it', I can´t tell him that… he´s just a boy.  
_ "Well… I- I just felt like taking a walk and, eh, haha, I kinda just ended up here and now I am talking to you"  
"Yes, hahaha, now were here." His laugh is so cute, Jessica thinks.  
"Well what are you doing out here? It´s rainy and cold and dark, you should be inside with your brother and read a book or something."  
"It has rained for days now, I wanted to go out and do something. I have already spent a lot of time inside with my brother and now I really wanted to go out so today he made me this boat, my brother is the best."  
 _He really looks up to his brother. How sweet of him. What if I had a sibling…? Would that sibling look up to me? Maybe, or maybe not._

Some time passes, they both sit quiet on the pavement and Jessica feels how the water is starting to leak through her pants and the cold is spreading through her body.  
"I have to go now Jessica, I my brother told me not to be outside for too long and I want to see if the boat floats before I go back inside. But it was nice talking to you; I hope I will see you again soon!" He stands up and his voice is still as happy as it was before, he is smiling with his full face and his, not yet fully grown teeth are clearly displayed.  
 _Why do I feel so off!? What is wrong? He should not be outside, he really shouldn't._  
"Should you really be out this late, it is really dark and you don't know what or who might be out there. Not to scare you or anything, but you should be careful."  
 _'I mean, there could totally be a couple of yellow eyes smelling of popcorn that wants to harm you' this is so silly, that thing over there could not have happened. I must have been imagining. But still… I was so afraid._  
"You can play with your boat tomorrow can´t you? Smiling with her full face, Jessica practically begs him.  
 _Yes, that's right! The strange feeling must be because he is outside, because he is not  
(safe)  
at home, where he should be right now.  
_"It is very friendly of you to be so thoughtful but my brother made me this boat and I don't want to disappoint him by not testing it,"  
he looks down at the boat in his small hands.  
"I really want to see if i- _she_ floats. I hope you have a nice walk and maybe I will see you again" He smiles again, but it looks like the thought of going home has affected him somehow.  
I stand up as well, I´m much taller than him and much more boring in my black raincoat and black pants.  
"Well goodbye… and you haven't changed your mind, to go home instead?"  
 _'Well, goodbye' you can't say that! Make him go home! Pleasepleaseplease go home!_  
He just smiles at Jessica and does something that surprises her almost more than those yellow glowing eyes she saw before; after looking up at her he takes a few quick steps forward and wraps his arms around Jessica's waist.  
"ohh" Jessica is totally caught off guard and before she can respond to the hug Georgie has already placed the paper boat in the water and started to run after it down the road.  
 _Nononono, he´s running away, toward the intersection, the yellow eyes! You´re so stupid, say something Jessica! Do something!_

"Georgie!" For the first time ever, Jessica raised her voice.  
She can only see the yellow raincoat now, but it looks like it turns around to look at her.  
"IF YOU SEE SOMEONE-RUN HOME!"  
And just before the yellow raincoat turns around to continue the chase of a small paper boat she hears a distant  
"Okay!"  
And she smiles to herself.  
 _maybe I imagined It…_

Not sure about what to do Jessica keeps walking up Witcham Street. But all her thoughts go back to Georgie and she is lost in her thoughts.  
 _He must have a nice brother; he seemed to look up to him a lot. I wonder who the brother is. Denbrough, I have heard that name before right? Maybe it´s someone in the other class? What if it´s someone in my class? Gosh I am really not social, how can I not know if it´s someone is in my class?! You´re so stupid Jess!_

As the houses become bigger and bigger, Jessica feels more and more uncomfortable. Sure, she does not live in the smallest house herself, but these are not houses. She looks at the massive buildings on either side of the road, trapping her. These are castles, she thinks, made for spoiled princes and princesses. At the thought of princesses she stops, remembering who lives too close to where she is right now… Greta Bowie. It was not like Jessica was Greta's favorite person to bother, there were other girls who had it worse. Like that red-headed girl. Jessica was not updated on the latest rumors running around in school, but everyone, even Jessica, knew the rumors about the redhead. _Barbara? No, Bonnie, Bon? No she can't be named Bon, what are you thinking with?_ _B-be, Ben? No, Bev? Bev!_ _Yes Bev, short for Beverly?  
_ Once again lost in her thoughts Jessica starts to slowly walk again but she doesn't come very far until

She stops. Mid sentence.  
Her body freezes.  
 _What. Was. That._  
The feeling, so overwhelming. Much stronger than what she has felt before. And it came way more sudden, like a bullet piercing through her chest.  
She had heard something, she knows she heard something.  
It was very distant but it really sounded… it sounded… like a _scream.  
Oh no.  
_Nobody _is out today,nobody is crazy enough to walk out in this shit weather, nobody except me… and Georgie… and a pair of yellow eyes.  
_ Without a second thought Jessica turns around and starts to run back down Witcham Street, the same way she came from.  
Her heart is beating faster than it ever has before, and her legs are moving without her thinking about it. She never ran unless she was forced to, during PE. But with her lungs now burning and her legs aching she wish she had.  
"Georgie? George?!" Jessica called.  
 _I think it was around here we sat together, so he must have gone further , oh god, how far could he have gone?  
_ Instead of running Jessica jogged, or walked at a fast pace.  
 _How far down could he have gone? He´s just a young boy, he couldn't have come this far down. And I should be able to see him further down the road if he was there; his raincoat is the brightest thing out here and it sticks out like a sore thumb. I would have seen it.  
_ By now Jessica is almost at the point where Witcham Street and Jackson Street cross each other. The place where she saw the eyes before.

"Georgie?" it was no louder than a whisper, why she was whispering she did not know. But of course she did it because she was afraid. No, she did not know.

"George? Are you here?" Jessica turns around, looks around herself.  
 _Where is he?  
_ "George!"  
 _Oh my- what if the eyes, oh no, nonono, you_ imagined _that.  
_ A lump starts to form in her throat and her vision becomes blurry as tears starts to form in her eyes. But she can´t cry, she has to find him.  
"Georgie! If you are here, this is not funny! Georgie!"  
 _Wait, I told him to go home and- and maybe he did? Maybe he actually got cold a-and wanted to go home to his brother? Yes, yes, that must be it; he is probably at home right now telling his brother about how the boat floated perfectly.  
Yes, yes, he is at home. And you only imagined yellow eyes floating in darkness.  
_Jessica faces the intersection; he could not have crossed the intersection right?  
 _His mother told him not to be out for too long, and when I met him his hands were warm so he must have just come outside which means he was close to his house. Okay, so he probably lives on Witcham Street. I could just knock on every doo-_

The sudden urge to vomit forces Jessica to cover her mouth.  
Her face is turned down, to her galoshes and the stream of rainwater that is a result of this week's heavy rain.  
There is not much lighting, it is almost as if the street is covered in a dark mist, but Jessica clearly sees the water. Or rather what is supposed to be water.  
Her ears ringing and breath so heavy. Somehow she is so very distant, so far away from everything that's going on.  
 _W-why… why is the water… red?_  
The water is no more than a light shade of red. But still red, so red, too red.  
Like _blood._  
 _No, this must all be a sick prank. Water is not red, everyone knows that._  
Her feet move her upstream, but she does not want to see.  
For every step she takes the shade of red deepens and it´s not just a trickle anymore.  
Before she knows it she stands in the middle of a big, red, puddle.  
 _What is this? This can't be bl-… no, no. .  
_ "Georgie?" by now her voice is so weak that even if Georgie was there, he would not have heard her.  
 _Why is there a big red puddle in the middle of the road? I really don't understand, please stop this. Or maybe… I am just imagining this, like I did with the yellow eyes. The water is not red; my mind is just trying to fool me.  
_ And with that, Jessica starts to bend down. The only thing Jessica hears is her own breath, echoing through her head. She holds out her pale hand in front of her before cupping her and slowly moving it down to the water. Her hand is shaking, but somehow it feels dethatched from the rest of her body. She cannot feel it and somehow it feels like the hand is moving without her wanting it to. She does not want to touch the water but the hand is moving.  
 _Stop it. STOP IT. You know, don't you? You already know what it is… and whose it is, do not touch it. You don't have to do this, you are going to touch a dead boy´s blood if you do it. Don't! Please don't, stop!_  
But as her hand reaches the water cold spread through her body.  
 _The water, it-it´s not… the water is not cold…  
_ As her fingers touched the puddle she felt the lukewarm liquid surround her fingers. Some water gathers in her cupped hand and Jessica reluctantly moves her hand closer to her face.  
 _"No"_ a sigh, almost of pain escapes her lips. She did already know. She _knew_ that she knew, but the realization still hit her hard. The feeling of nausea comes back and her throat cramps together.  
In her hand, the hand she holds in front of her, the hand she uses to write homework, the hand she never raises in class and the hand she helped a boy up with just twenty minutes ago, there is now water, red like the beetroot juice her mother always forces her to drink. But it´s not juice, it is the blood of a young boy.

Suddenly she fells someone grabbing her shoulders and then how this someone starts to shake her. Jessica´s gaze is still at the red liquid in her hands, some spilled over when the person shook her. Some of it has dried and left red stains on her pale hand.  
 _My hand is covered with his blood. My hand is covered in blood from a young boy… and this boy is someone's child, and someone's brother. And he´s dead. And my hand is covered with his blood!  
_ Jessica slowly looks up. Her face is empty. In front of her stands and old lady, her hair is white and her face shocked. Jessica believes she probably has a similar look on her own face.  
Her lips are moving but Jessica hears nothing.  
"Wha? Her lips feels so heavy, too heavy to move.  
"Did you see where the boy went?" She is practically screaming in Jessica´s face. A drop of spit lands on Jessicas cheek but she ignores it, leaves it there.  
"Boy?"  
 _Please let this old woman be a crazy lady that has no idea of what she is saying. But you already know that this lady is not insane, don't you? She probably saw it happen, whatever happened to the so called 'boy'. But you already know what happened to him, don't you? So why are you not reacting? Start panicking! Start crying!  
_ "The boy with the yellow raincoat of course!" more spit  
"The one who was looking into that drain" the old lady points at the drain next to them, Jessica follows her finger and seeds the drain.  
The dark hole looks like an open mouth, hungry and ready to eat. A shiver goes up Jessica´s spine; _what if…_  
"and then he was just gone, and blood covered the street. Did you see him? Maybe he was hit by a car? Do you think he was hit by a car? Did you see a car? Or did you see the boy, he wore a-a yellow raincoat, very bright colour, and he was quite short. Do you know a boy like that?"  
The lump in Jessica´s throat grows and it feels impossible to say anything.

"It, it w-was…" her voice breaks and after a deep inhale she tries again.  
"It was Georgi- George Denbrough" the lady lets go of her grip around Jessica´s shoulders.  
"The Denbrough boy, huh." The old lady mumbles. "I guess I´ll have to go and tell them something. Or see if he somehow went home… But I don't know what to say. You didn't see what happened?" she raises one of her almost non-existent eyebrows. Jessica only shakes her head and the old lady says something to herself before turning around and mumbling a short 'goodbye' to Jessica.  
Some time passes and Jessica just stands there. Not unsble to move, but unwilling to move.

 _"_ _Jesssssssicaaaaaaa"_ she turns to the drain, the dark mouth open and ready to devour. The voice didn't come as a too big surprise to Jessica. She had heard it before, today when the wind picked up over at the intersection. It was a child´s voice.  
 _If I look down that drain I will probably face the same destiny Georgie did.  
_ The temptation, or maybe the curiosity, forces Jessica to take just one step closer to the drain.  
 _"Jeeeeeeeeeessicaaaaaaa"_ the sound makes her eyes tear up,  
 _If I look down that drain, maybe I will see Goergie. And I can apologize.  
_ And as everything becomes blurry she thinks she sees something, flashing by in the drain for just a moment. Something yellow, and glowing.  
Two heavy tears fall down her cheeks and as her vision becomes clear again the drain is still gaping, empty.

As Jessica walks home the rain hides her tears.  
 _What happened today?_  
She could not know for sure that the blood belonged to Georgie, could she?  
Maybe he actually went home, and the blood she held in her hand once had belonged to a poor rabbit or deer, that faced a quite tragic ending with a car.  
The only problem was that there was no traffic on Witcham Street; cars were not allowed to drive because of the heavy rain…  
 _But you can´t know for sure, Jessica. There is still hope; there_ must _be some hope left._

Her house lies empty and dark in front of her.  
 _The power is still not back, huh.  
_ Fore once she actually wished that her parents were home. She could not stand the thought of walking into this house, alone. And then being alone in the empty, dark house until her parents come home.  
 _I could always go to the Toziers´… yes, I can do that. For once I am actually going to the Tozier´s by my own will. And a child had to be murdered for that to happen. You are just fantastic Jessica.  
_ She turns around just as she reaches the door, almost running away from it.  
Jessica has no idea why, but she feels happy. Or maybe relieved is the right word, because she could not be _happy_ after today´s events, that would just be insane. But she did feel relieved. Relieved that she had parents to go to, maybe not at home, but at least she could go to them.  
And maybe that Tozier boy could give her a laugh or two…

Without knowing it herself a small smile, or at least something close to that, started to form on her lips.  
But that was not to last for long.  
Because, just across the street, tied to one of the swings was a single, red balloon.  
Floating in the air.


End file.
